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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  September 26, 2012 10:00am-12:00pm PDT

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same time. just minutes away. the president, he is holding a rally. this is in bowling green. romney is about 130 miles away. he is in bedford heights. we'll dip into both of those event wrshz we want to bring in jim accosta in who is covering the romney campaign. jim, we have some information. we know that polls are actually showing the president is leading romney in ohio. this is the cnn poll of polls. average of four most recent surveys. the president ahead, 55-41%. why do you think that is so significant right now? >> he has more than 40 days to go before this election, but keep in mind that the presidential debates, a series of presidential debates in that vice presidential debate gets going next week. so he doesn't have a whole lot of time on the ground to persuade swing state voters like here in ohio that he needs them on his side, and you can see he has this economic message behind me right now in big letters on
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that sign. it says we need a real recovery. he has been fine-tuning his economic message all morning long. trying to reconnect with voters in this stais state. he said at a hearing in the western of the state that his heartaches for people who are struggling in this economy. take a listen to a little bit of what he had to say earlier this morning. >> there is so many in our country that are hurting right now. i want to help them. he know what it takes to get an economy going again and creating jobs. i know a lot of folks that have jobs wonder how they can make ends meet until the end of the month and put food on the table until the -- >> and it's not just here in ohio, suzanne. there is that new "new york times" cbs news poll that came out this morning. not just in ohio, showed a ten-point lead for the president in this state, but if you go to florida with the president has a nine-point lead and in pennsylvania a state that the romney campaign was sort of keeping an eye on in the hopes
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of maybe going in there and making that state competitive. that state, the president, has a 12-point advantage, so obviously romney has a lot of catching up to do. i had a chance to just e-mail back and forth very briefly with a senior romney advisor, and they're already talking about debate expectations for next week and kevin, who is a senior romney advisor, described the president as cy young, one of the great all-time pitchers in baseball. you can't really set expectations higher than that for your opponent, suzanne. >> we know that president obama actually won ohio 51-47%. why are they actually thinking that they've got some wiggle room here, that they've got some influence? what do they think they can do in the weeks ahead? >> they're going to hit this economic message as much as
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possible. we heard mitt romney talking about that earlier this morning. these polls that have come out do show that he still has an advantage over the president when it comes to who it best managed the debt and the deficit, who would cut the deficit, and so we heard mitt romney saying earlier this morning that the national debt stands at $16 trillion. right now if president obama gets four more years, he predicted the national debt would skyrocket to $20 trillion. he is putting that message out there. i had a chance to talk to mitt romney about some of this yesterday and suzanne, he did not seem concerned about this. he came to talk to us on his campaign plane yesterday saying that the obama campaign is basically trying to strike the football on the 30 yard line, there's still plenty of time left, and there is some truth to that. rick santorum and some of the
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midwestern states for a brief period, and then he was able to close the gap. mitt romney is a good closer. it will be interesting to watch these polls as the days going g on as we get to the debates that are coming up. they'll be critical. >> i'll have to beef up on my sports analogies as well. thank you, jim. good to see you. a reminder we'll be dipping to both president obama and mitt romney's events here in ohio. the president is in bowling green. mitt romney is in bedford heights. we'll go live to both locations. to new york, it is the one time of the year when nearly every world leader in the same place, a lot of them at least, the united nations general assembly. kings, prime ministers, ministers get a few minutes at the podium to address the rest of the world. they get their undivided attention unless, of course, certain delegations decide to walk out in protest or not even show up. well, that's what happened today at the american mission to the u.n. essentially did not show up as the president of iran walked in. more than just a minute or so. here's a bit of a speech a few
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minutes ago by president mahmoud ahmadinejad. it was not a redefined message by any stretch of the imagination. he pretty much repeated what he has said along the lines of western world nomination as he rallied against the western world as well as the united states. let's listen in as he talks about the u.n. as well. >> the need to remove the structural values and encourage the process of universal participation in global management has never been greater before. the united nations looks efficiency to bring about the changes. if this inefficiency persists, nations will lose hope in the global structures to defend rights. if the united nations is restructured international interactions and spirit are collected global cooperation will be tarnished and the standing of the united nations will be damaged. >> want to bring in jill
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dougherty, our foreign affairs in new york today. you've been watching all this. we have covered in u.n. general assemblies. ahmadinejad always makes a bit of a splash, if you will, but this one, i didn't hear a lot of the kind of fiery rhetoric that we usually do. do you know why he almost seemed to tone it down this year? >> well. tone it down, but maybe our expectations were a little high because after all, what he is trying to do is really lead the charge for the non-aligned nations of the world. the people who are beaten down in his view by the capitalists, and he mentioned capitalism more than he mentioned zionism which i thought it was interesting. he was saying that, you know, marxism is dead, capitalism rules the world, and it's unfair. also, at the annualing nothings he said we have to have a restructuring because what's going on at the united nations also, you know, puts a boot on
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the neck of countries that don't have power. so it is a message that resonates with some countries, and it didn't sound maybe as fiery, but there was a bit of his vision. after all, don't forget, this is his last one, his swan song at the united nations muggies, because he will be out of office as president of iran in june of next year. >> does anybody really pay attention very much to what he says? i mean, we know the american delegation really they didn't even show up to listen to him, but other people, they sat there. do they talk about what he actually has to say? do they think, well, this guy really doesn't have a lot of power, not even in his own country? >> well, that's in a way that is true. i mean, he does not have a lot of structural power in this country, and also he is as president, i should say, because after all, it's the ayatollahs that do. he does -- it's an interesting speech for him to make because although he says, you know, the economy is important and we have helpnaono deel, h is a man with a lot of economic
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problems. unemployment. iran. look at its oil exports right now. they are very much diminished because of the sanctions. he has a lot of problems at home. you mentioned the united states did not even walk in. they didn't walk out because they were there. maybe we should show exactly the reason. we have the statement by the muggies united nations, the spokesperson for the united states at the united nations. over the past couple of days would you have season ahmadinejad use his trip to the u.n. not to talk about aspirations of the iranian people but to, instead, spout paranoid theories and repulsive slurs against israel. now, actually, he didn'to a lot of that. perhaps his statement, you know, coming in advance was kind of based on things he had said in the past. there were a couple of references to sfwlionnism, and they were kind of par for the
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course. >> jill, thank you so much. appreciate it. sheers what we're working on for this hour. >> i still remember the desert. they had to sleep in the desert because we had been walking for hours. we just prayed that nothing would happen. >> she spoke no english when she was brought to the u.s. as a little girl, and she's been here illegally ever since. what to do about illegal immigration? it's a big issue divided mitt romney and president barack obama. plus, when you hear the word auction, you think of paintings and antiques. but what about food? it's possible. you can save money on your grocery bills at food auctions. and could you go a full day without your cell phone? think about it. no emails. no saeshl networking sites. just experiencing the world around you. . but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way, right? lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day.
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[ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. romney: "it's time to stand up to the cheaters" vo: tough on china? not mitt romney. when a flood of chinese tires threatened a thousand american jobs... it was president obama who stood up to china and protected american workers. mitt romney attacked obama's decision... said standing up to china was "bad for the nation and our workers." how can mitt romney take on the cheaters... when he's taking their side?
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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. >> going to hear a lot of spin on the campaign trail when it comes to big issue. we're helping you to cut through some of the noise and tell you where the candidates stand on some of the issues. we'll talk about how president obama and mitt romney plan to tackle the challenges that are facing our country. one issue at a time today.
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we've got casey wyan taking a look at the illegal immigration issue through the eyes of a sheriff on one side and a student on the other. >> reporter: angel ka hernandez was 9 when she first crossed the border with her mother and sister. >> i still remember the crossing at the desert and having to sleep in the desert because it was getting too late and we had been walking for hours, and my mom would hold my sister in one arm and me on the other arm, and, you know, just pray that nothing would happen. >> reporter: but their mum smuggler was pulled over for speeding, and they were deported. their second crossing succeeded. entering school as a fourth grader hernandez was teased because she spoke no english. now the sheriff has spent much of his military and law enforcement career battling human smugglers. deputies in his county seven miles north of the border last year engaged in 350 high speed pursuits involving drug and human smugglers. shoo they look at these people,
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these humans, as product. they don't care about their safety. they'll leave them for dead. they get in a wreck, and just walk away. >> reporter: he strongly supportsary air laws cracking down on illegal immigration. >> the impact has been so tremendous. not only billions of dollars in impact to our budget, but the crime that is are associated. many crimes committed against illegals themselves. >> reporter: the sheriff and the student one trying to enforce the law, the other trying to stay a step ahead of it. angelica hernandez, the little girl who couldn't speak english this week begins work on her masters degree at stanford. hernandez graduated from arizona state despite losing the scholarship twice because of arizona laws restricting benefits for illegal immigrants. >> being undocumented, it's something that gives you so many different qualities and strengthens you because you
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learn to overcome so many things. >> reporter: now she's trying to apply for president obama's deferred action program giving temporary legal status to young illegal immigrants. >> it is an election year, so we don't know if he did it because of that or, you know, is he trying to get the latino vote, but in the end we knew it was a win for us. >> reporter: not for the sheriff who sees it as an unenforceable federal mandate and another lure for bringing hundreds of thousands of people through his county illegally. >> what do we do with these 10 million, 20 million people? a lot of americans, including myself, say before we have that discussion, let's secure the border. we as a country have not enforced the law. because of that, we're at the situation we're at today. >> reporter: hernandez is ineligible for a driver's license in arizona. on this day she's going to have her photo taken for her deferred action application, essentially breaking the law to become legal. she worries mitt romney would end the deferred action program leaving her ineligible for the
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job she wants in alternative energy when she finishes grad school. the sheriff worries president obama will legalize more illegal immigrants and keep his deputies busy chasing smugglers. casey wyan, cnn, arizona. auctions they make you think of picassos, money yeas, right? what about a full box of potato chips? that's right. food auctions actually can save some big bucks on your grocery bill. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels.
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want to show you them both. we'll go live as soon as they begin. these are essentially dualing campaign events. you've got president obama, is he in ohio in bowling green, and then that is actually at screen left, and then on the right side of your screen we have mitt romney who is in bedford heights. both of them competing for those eye hooi high voters. they're only 130 miles apart from each other. they're going to speak almost at the same time. we'll dip into both and take them both live to see just what kind of message that they're trying to get across ohio voters to appeal to them as well. it's ebbing streamly competitive. the latest polls show that president obama actually leads in the battleground state of
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ohio. if you are trying to save money by cutting down on your grocery bill, there is one way to do it. it's kind of odd. i haven't heard this before. it is a food auction. you bid on your groceries. i want to bring in cnn's cat kinsman who recommends it. she's joining us from morning. is this really like going once, going twice, potato chips? you know, is that how it sounds? >> yeah. it pretty much does. i haven't gotten to go to one myself, about the my colleague jonathan hellman went and reported that people are saving huge amounts of money on their groceries by participating in those auctions. now, people -- you're not bidding against your fellow bidders or anything. you're coming together on the maximum price that people will pay, and then everybody gets to pay that price, so it's a win-wane situation all around. you can buy snacks, frozen items, whatsoever, but people are saving between 40% and 09% on their grocery this is way. >> wow. that's pretty extraordinary. now, how does it actually work?
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>> okay. so a distributor will say say, buy too much of something that's seasonal or they happen to have too much of it or it's out of date, and so multiple lots of things will come up on the auction block, and people aren't bidding against each other. they're bidding to set the highest maximum price that people will pay for it, and then everybody gets that price. some of the stuff might surprise you because it might be scratched, dented, maybe something they don't want to sell in the store. >> and you said that some of this has an expiration date on it, and it's passed the expiration date. is that safe? >> here's the funny thing. i didn't know this before. that is actually not a federally regulated date. that is for freshness, not for safety. just because something says, you know, that the date has passed, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's at all bad to eat it. it might not be at its peak of flavor freshness. use your eyes, ears, nose, and see if, you know, it still looks
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and smells good to you, but really except for infant formula, the stuff is not federally regulated. >> all right. cat, two more questions for you. first of all, it seems like it would be time-consuming if you were doing all this bidding on your groceries, so does it take more time than simply pick up something more expensive and then secondly, how do you find out if you have a food auction in your neighborhood? >> okay. you're saving money, not necessarily time, but the great thing is that these come -- these have become a great rallying point for communities and people really use it as social interaction and end up swapping and trading and often giving the excess away to chaert. now, can you go to the national auctioneers website, which i believe is auctioneers.org and find out if there is an auctioneer near you, and handy dandy craig's list will help you find all of these in your neighborhood as well. >> all right. tell me how it turns out when you go and auction for your groceries? i want to follow-up here. i want to see if it is as much fun as it looks. >> for you, i will do that.
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>> okay. thank you, cat. >> thank you. >> it is a fathers dying wish. he hopes iran's president is going to be the one to actually grant it. don't forget, you can watch cnn live on your computer, while you're at work. head to cnn.com/tv. ♪ well, he's not very handsome ♪ to look at [ sighs ] ♪ oh, he's shaggy ♪ and he eats like a hog [ male announcer ] the volkswagen jetta. available with advanced keyless technology. control everything from your pocket, purse, or wherever. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ that dirty, old egg-suckin' dog ♪ that's the power of german engineering.
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[ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. i want to go to president obama. is he campaigning in ohio in bowling green. state university in ohio. let's listen in. >> i love you back. i'm thrilled to be here. it's great to be here with your next congresswoman angela zinman. i'm thrilled to be with all of you, and unless you live under a rock or your cable is busted, you may have noticed that
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there's an election going on here in ohio. by the way, those of you who have seats, feel free to sit down. i'm going to be talking for a while here. and those of whou don't, make sure to bend your knees because sometimes people faint, fall out. not because i'm so exciting, but just because you've been standing a long time. there's an election going on here in ohio, and in case you're wondering what kind of impact that's having, i was talking to my campaign manager. he was meeting with this couple who had this adorable 4-year-old son named sammy. they were very proud that sammy knew what was going on, and there was a picture of me occupy the wall, and the parents said who is that, sammy, and sammy said that's barack obama, and then -- and then the parents asked and what does barack obama do, and sammy thinks for a second, and he says he approves
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this message. true story. true story. that's what i do. i approve this message. in ohio starting on october 2nd, which is just six days from now you get to start voting. you get to have your say. you can register to vote all the way up until october 9th, but if you are already registered, can you start voting in six days. this is important because you've got a big choice to make. it's not just a choice between two parties or two candidates. it is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for america. two fundamentally different choices for our future.
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my opponent and his running mate are big believers in topdown economics. they basically think that if we just spent another $5 trillion on tax cuts that fare the very wealthiest, then -- don't boo. vote. vote. vote. but their theory is these tax cuts for folks at the top, then prosperity and jobs will rain down on everybody else. deficit will magically go away, and we will live happily ever after. there's only one problem. we just tried this during the last decade. during the previous presidency. it didn't work.
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top down economics never works. the country doesn't succeed when only the rich get richer. we succeed when the middle class gets bigger. when more people have a chance to get ahead. more people have a chance to live up to their god-given potential. look, i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. i've got to tell you, as i travel around ohio and as i look out on this crowd, i don't see a lot of victims. i see hard-working ohioans. that's what i see. we got students who are trying to work their way through college. putting in overtime to raise their kids.
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>> your outstanding president of this institution, bowling green, outstanding woman, really smart. there she is right there. we were talking because we both were raised by single moms. she was telling the story about how her mom worked at a resort in west virginia, but, you know, she was doing the hard work and ended up raising one college president when one federal judge. that's what we believe about the economy. when you give folks a chance. people who have been saving for retirement their entire lives. veterans who serve this country so bravely.
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soldiers who are today defending our freedom. we, look -- let's just get something straight in case anybody is confused. we don't believe anybody is entitle the to success in this country. we don't believe government should be helping people who refuse to help themselves. but we do believe in something called opportunity. we do believe that hard work should pay off. we do believe that in america everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. we believe that no matter who you are, or what you like, or what your last name is or who you love, you can make it if you try. that's t country i believe in. that's what i have been fighting
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for for four years, and that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. sfwroo president obama there in bowling green, ohio. want to dip in to mitt romney now who is also in ohio. this is out of bedford heights. let's listen in. >> because people haven't got the skills that they need to fit those jobs and so he is concerned, as i'm cocerned, to make sure that our people have the skills they need to succeed. we have 47 different federal government training programs, and they report to eight different agencies. they spend $18 billion on these programs, but too often they don't match the needs of our people. so i want to take those dollars and send them back to ohio -- or each state, so they can fashion the programs to meet the needs of their own workers.
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i would like people to have personal re-employment accounts where a person has an account which they can use to get the training they feel they need for the job of their future. we need to really think about how to help people make sure and match the skills that they have with the needs of our economy. with four years we've lost 582,000 manufacturing jobs. 582 thousand. this -- we can't afford four more years like the last four years. we've got to get this economy going again. so -- and so with no further ado, i'm going introduce someone who you have seen on wonderful ford motor company ads. a guy who you have seen for eight years in some of the dirtiest jobin america, a man who cares about the american
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worker like almost no one else, my friend, mike rowe. >> wow. you stood up. look at you. you spoil me. hello, ohio. so nice to be back. always nice to be back in this state, although i will confess some days have been better than others. first time i was here i think was 2004. "dirty jobs" was just getting off the ground. we weren't exactly sure what the show was going to be, and i came out here and spent a very long day in the middle of july with the guys over at the department of transportation, specifically in their road kill clean-up division. you'll be pleased to know, ohio, that you do, in fact, have a road kill clean-up division, and they are excellent at what they do.
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you'll also be pleased to know the road kill itself here in ohio is second to none both in volume and variety, so that was great. i have been assured by the governor and his team that today will not be anywhere near as bloody or smelly as my last time in ohio, and so far so good. i'll keep my comments fairly brief, but i do want to pick up on a few things the governor said. the short version is this. i wanted to be here today because the governor invited me. he answered a letter that i have written to a lot of people over the last five or six years. the reason i'm writing these letters and the reason i'm going around talking to groups is because i personally and honestly believe that we have unintentionally disconnected
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ourselves in a really fundamental way from the most important part of our work force. i'm talking about the men and women who do the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us, the people who keep the lights on, the people who allow the toilets to work, the people who pick up road kill, the people who paint the bridges, the people who farm, the people who mine, those are the heroes of "dirty jobs," and they have -- they have provided me with something that i didn't think the show ever would. they provided me with an education. they've given me some perspective that quite highway honestly i didn't have in 2001 when i started this program. "dirty jobs" is a tribute to my granddad. he is a guy a lot of you know. you have never met him or heard of him, but he only made it to the eighth grade, but by the time he was 30, he was a
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licensed electrician, a plumber. he was a master of every trade i knew from welding to carpentry. he could build a house without a blueprint. "dirty jobs" is a tribute to guys like that, and the reason it's still on the air today is because back in 2008, as many of you know all too well, the headlines m country started to catch on. >> you've been watching. this is mike rowe, host of discover channel's "dirty jobs." he is there as a guest of mitt romney. i want to bring in paul steinhauser. i guess it's not surprising is he there with mitt romney. the whole idea, you have these careers that are underappreciated. that there should be enthusiasm for the working person who might have a dirty job, not the kind of job that everybody wants to have. is that the message that mitt romney is trying to embrace here that he gets it, he understands the folks who might have a dirty job? >> you know, this is the second rally today where you are hearing mitt romney saying those kind of words, and maybe it's a little bit of make good for those controversial comments
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from the hidden camera video that really dominated the campaign trail last week when mitt romney talked about 47% of americans who are dependent on the government. maybe this is part of mitt romney satisfying, yes, i hear you, i understand you, and i am going to be fighting for all americans. he had similar language at his first rally earlier this morning in ohio, and are you hearing it again right here, suzanne. you are also hearing a similar message from the president. both candidates at dualing events in ohio. two by the president. three by mitt romney today. both kwdz reaching out to middle class americans, suzanne. >> paul, explain why it's specifically important for folks in ohio, the fact that they're in ohio when it comes to manufacturing jobs, when it comes to the auto industry, and even this relationship with china, our trade relationship, with china. people are paying attention it that in ohio. why? >> oh, very much so. especially the china issue, and that's why both campaigns use it in ads as well. because of the trade embargo or the imbalance with china really affects people on the ground in
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states like ohio where, of course, it is a crucial battleground state as well. remember, no republican has won ohio in modern times, more won the white house in modern times without carrying ohio. that is why this state is so crucial. it's 18 electoral votes are being really grab at by both the president and mitt romney. both candidates spending so much time there, and, suzanne, the thing about ohio from romney, it really is a must-win state wrush talk about whether states you must win or not. capturing ohio, also capturing back florida, such -- so important for mitt romney, and the new poll numbers there are really not really helping mitt romney's case right now. i don't know if you have them, but we put together an average of the last four polls. there it is. there you go. you can see the president by seven points over mitt romney in ohio. a similar story in florida and a budget of the other battleground states. of course, it's five and a half weeks until the election. anything can happen, and we have those debates coming up one week from today. they start, suzanne, that could also change the needle on the polling. >> certainly could. right around the corner there. all right, paul. thank you very much. obviously president obama, mitt romney competing for the very
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important state of ohio. a swing state. it wasn't so long ago when we lived without cell phones, right? what's it going to be like, right, if you were to go a full day without a cell phone? harder than you might think. we actually tried it. that ahead. could only come from. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way, right? lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one.
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here's a challenge wrush might find it pretty hard, actually. going without your cell phone
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for a entire day. comedian and cnn contributor dean obadia actually tried to do it. he found himself desperately seeking out a place to check his emails. take a look. >> i saw the words internet. internet. right there. next to panini. in small letters. it's right next to the adult video store, which makes it convenient, i think, on some level, you know? is it bezy all the time, are people always using this? >> yes. we have our regular clients. >> you have regular clients that come in, hey, yahoo, g mail, i like that. i need to check my e-mail. i could have had the break of my life, my dreams, and i have missed it all. i put $2 in this thing? >> put it into the machine. this one right here next to the gentleman. ? okay. >> it turn out the rast time i checked my emails, about maybe four hours ago, three to four hours ago, i'm not as important as i think. there's nothing life let inning. everything here could have been answered tomorrow, frankly.
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i waited a whole 24 hours. i do feel a sense of relief that i read these, and there is nothing truly pressing. >> did you enjoy the computer? >> i feel much better. i feel relief because i know what's going on in the word. thanks a lot. >> dean joins us from sacramento. all right, dean. wait. how long did you it take you before you had to check your e-mail? >> it took -- well, actually about ten minutes. i'm, like, i got to check my e-mail. i waited about four or five hours, and it probably took about an hour of asking people have you seen an internet cafe? i walked down the street looking for a lost dog. have you seen an internet cafe? people were dumbfounded by that question. i found one. >> why were you so pressed about this? >> suzanne, i'm pretty newer on theic. i'm a comedian. i think we're newer on theic. i'm a exceedian, so i'm the president of my company, and i'm the product. i'm everything. i need to be in touch with people because if i have bookings offered or appearances offered, sometimes you have to get back to them welcome back an
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hour or so or you could lose it. secondly, i am neurotic. i'm holding my cell phone that i will not let this go again, cnn. never. >> i don't know if it's ego or newerosis or whatever, but i want to understand what you wrote here. this is in your cnn.com sleight site. at first you said at first i felt liberated like neo in the matrix where he took the red pill and could see the real world, and then things changed. explain what first happened when you let go of the phone? >> it was actually great because usually i walk around the streets of new york. i'm checking my e-mail, texts. i'm on the phone. i'm not looking at people on the streets of new york. that day i really took it in, and it really -- new york is a beautiful melting pot. all different backgrounds, races, faiths. people walking aron the streets. about 20 minutes later i'm, like, i got to check my e-mail. also, the struggle is you can't access your voice mail. the only way to check your voice mall is to go to a payphone, which in new york the homeless people are apparently using as bathrooms because they're the most filthy thing i have ever used in years.
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still i try to check my messages, and that's the struggle. i don't remember phone numbers. i had to write phone numbers down before i went out in the streets. it's a different world. i call it america b.c., america before cell phones, and much more difficult challenging time. >> you actually write, too, when you were riding the subway that you started to, like, read the signage and the all kinds of things that became much more apparent to you. what did youactually see and discover? >> well, one thing was looking around at subway and seeing so many other people on their smartphones playing games, listening to music. just in their own little world. a crowded subway car, but everyone he's late in their own world. second, and more importantly, i finally read the emergency evacuation sign in the subway, so in case of fire, if are any the subway, you see me, follow me. i know where to go. it's going to be fine. remain calm. help is on the way. >> you know what, in english and spanish, i'm sure. phenyl question -- >> many languages, actually. >> was it lonely? right? you're there. you're looking around, and everybody else is probably looking at their phones.
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>> it really is because everyone is carpetalized in their own little cell phone worlds or listening to their music. they're not talking to you. people aren't making eye contact in new york, which is a big thing. oddly enough, after a few hours, i actually did feel lonely because i felt unconnected. i'm so used to e-mailing friends, texting friends, texting work things, you know, e-mailing people about work. you're walking like an island. i'm on the island of manhattan, but feeling like i'm on my own little island. it was a little unnerving. i felt like a lonely person in the biggest city in the country. >> dean, could you do it again? you tried it for 24 hours. do you think it could go a little longer? >> i need money this time. i'm not doing this again just as an experiment for fun for cnn. i need to be paid for this. they wanted me to do it a week at first. i said get out of here. three days. i got it down to a day. okay. we'll do it a day. it was fun, but i don't think i would do it again. >> all right. i'm going to call you and keep it touch with you. you got my phone right here. i'm not letting you go. >> thanks, suzanne. >> please keep in touch. i have my phone. >> i will. thank you. >> take care. >> cnn's initiative is taking an
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in depth look at how global technology is changing the world from health to personal relationships as well as business. for more of the coverage, go to cnn.com/our mobile society or visit our mobile society section of the cnn mobile apps. as we just mentioned people all over the world constantly connected their cell phones. but is it making you sick? literally? our dr. sanjay gupta explains why you need to put it down.
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the government is now urging the fcc to update its safety regulations. i spoke with dr. sanjay gupta about how cell phones can be harmful. >> we know, for example, these phones can change your brain a little bit. they can increase the way your brain in that area absorbs glucose. it can -- they get hot. they can actually heat up certain areas of your brain. so what do these things do in the long run? that's part of what's prompting us. the world health organization already refers to cell phones as a possible carcinogen. carcinogen means cancer causing agent. >> sure, sure. is there anything -- so we love to use these. i'm not going to get rid of it. i don't think you're going to get rid of yours. everybody is trying to reach you all the time. do we -- how can we protect ourselfs? >> i think there is the good news, a couple of important tips, these are things i do in my own life. remember this, if you have a really bad signal, it means your phone is work even harder than normal to try to get a better signal. it is letting off more radiation. so your best bet if you can't hear the person is probably say,
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look, i'll call you later, i'll call you when i'm in a better area or text the person. so that's one good tip, something i do. but also simply using an ear piece. and i know this isn't particularly sexy and you look like a geek when you wear this. i have -- but i think doing that automatically pushes the phone away from your head. if you read the information pamphlet that comes with your phone, it says don't hold these phones next to your head, seiay keep it half an inch -- that's why they give you ear pieces with your phones as well. >> knee replacement surgery is up dramatically, that's according to a new study, an article in "usa today" says the number of total knee replacement surgeries rose 161%. among medicare patients over the past 20 years. that is based on the study by the journal of the american medical association. numbers expected to go even higher as baby boomers age. it costs medicare about $15,000.
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the annual tab around $5 billion. researchers say that could have a major impact on health care costs moving forward. even president obama is -- he hopes the nfl's regular refs get back on the job. we'll show you what green bay tv station thinks of the replacements. [ male announcer ] we got a real mom and the family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to our test facility to see if it worked. [ woman ] take a deep breath, tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. a clean house. my new car. [ woman ] go ahead and take your blindfolds off. oh!! hahahaha!!! look at all this garbage!!! [ male announcer ] febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness, so you can breathe happy.
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american workers. mitt romney attacked obama's decision... said standing up to china was "bad for the nation and our workers." how can mitt romney take on the cheaters... when he's taking their side?
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griping over nfl replacingment rreplacing me referees, one green bay station, wgba used a replacement weatherman. take a look. >> 200 degrees below today, we're looking at. it is really going to heat up. it is going to be like 346 degrees. >> get out of here! what is going on? what you got here, a thunder hurricane? >> a replacement weatherman. thunder hurricane sounds like a
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forecast nobody would want to replace. grumbling continues. and, of course, green bay doesn't stop there, other irate packers fans offering free lasik vision correction to the refs that called the game. this is in appleton, wisconsin, told wfrv he'll throw in a lesson on decision-making at no charge with the lasik surgery. talks are continuing in this labor dispute between the regular refs and the nfl. hope they work that out. "cnn newsroom" continues now with brooke baldwin. >> thank you so much. good to see all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. the u.s. walks out as mahmoud ahmadinejad walks in. here he is. the president of iran, addressing the u.n. for the very last time and use the stage today to blast the west. we'll show you exactly what happened, but first, politics. holy toledo. mitt romney is losing ohio now by ten points.
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ten points. we're going to share the new poll with you in a moment here. first, let's take a glimpse at romney, live pictures, second straight day, here he is, in the buckeye state. and i want to go ahead and really just cut to the chase if i may to win the election, november 6th, mitt romney pretty much must win the state of ohio. so this is dire news for the romney camp, potentially ten points down in ohio with less than six weeks to go until the election. we're going to play some tape here, you'll see where he was a short time ago, at an appearance east of cleveland, exact location, bedford heights, ohio. he's talking about unemployment and federal government waste. take a look. >> we have 47 different federal government training programs and they report to eight different agencies. they spent $18 billion on these programs. but too often they don't match the needs of our people. so i want to take those dollars
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and send them back to ohio, or each state, so they can fashion the programs to meet the needs of their own workers. >> and we told you again, live pictures, mitt romney, right here. we're going to look at this poll because this is the one that shows romney now ten points down in ohio. and, boom, here you go. this is from the new york times, cbs news, quinnipiac university. the question they posed, if the election were held today, for whom would you vote. president obama receiving 53%. mitt romney 43%, ten-point differential. now, obama is also beating romney's double digit in terms of national security, on health care, on taxes, crisis management, overall foreign policy, double digit leads in all those areas in ohio, in that poll that was released just today. jim acosta, he's with me now from somewhere in northern ohio. jim, tell me exactly where you are and tell us what is -- what is team romney's reaction to the
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poll showing romney running ten points down in ohio. >> well, right now, we're inside of a factory in bedford heights, ohio, outside of cleveland, and on stage behind me is mitt romney, but mike rowe from the tv show "dirty jobs." i'm sure you've seen that show before. >> yep. >> reporter: it is a show you see mike rowe going into all these dirty, nasty, ugly types of jobs and bonding with workers, blue collar workers. that is sort of the theme here today. mitt romney is trying to connect with blue collar voters and the state he's been doing that all day long. he did that earlier this morning in westerville, ohio, talking about how his heartaches as he put it for workers in this country. it is sort of a different side of mitt romney the campaign is trying to show from that one that damaged this campaign so greatly last week when the hidden camera videos came out. but just to get into those poll numbers, brooke, i mean, you're right, you do paint a grim picture there. and when it rains, it pours. it has been raining all day for
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mitt romney as he's been crisscrossing the state. if you look at the cbs poll numbers this is not good news for mitt romney going into the debate next week. all of those debates in the month of october are going to cut down on the time he has to go into the states and campaign. but talking to -- i had a chance to talk to mitt romney yesterday. he said, look, polls go up, polls go down. he's confident that he's going to close this gap in the final days of this race and beat the president, not only in ohio, but across the country. also interesting to note mitt romney's polling -- or political director was talking to reporters yesterday and he basically said that the obama campaign in his words was trying to spike the football on the 30 yard line, because there is a long way to go in this race. still more than 40 days to go, brooke. a lot of time left. >> so he says he'll close the gap. he says this to you, jim acosta. we appreciate you there in ohio. because now we want to keep the conversation going. we have matt bore jesse, the executive director will join me
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in a moment. but, first, i need to mention, these are live pictures, there is the president somewhere -- there he is, upper right-hand portion of your screen. president also in, wait for it, ohio. he spoke just a short time ago in bowling green. let's play some of that. >> my opponent and his running mate are big believers in top down economics. they basically think that if we just spend another $5 trillion on tax cuts that favor the very wealthiest, then -- don't boo. vote. vote. vote. >> don't boo, vote he says. that's the president today in bowling green, ohio. as i promised, we're joined now by matt borges, executive director of ohio's republican party. nice to see you. let me get your reaction today to this poll, released showing your candidate mitt romney trailing in your state, a state
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crucial to his hopes by this ten-point number. what is your reaction, sir? >> well, i hope the democrats believe it. i know i don't. >> why don't you believe it? >> we're looking at -- well, i mean, this election is going to come down to turnout. the turnout models that are being used as the samples for these polls actually in some cases show that turnout will be better for barack obama in 2012 than it was in 2008. i don't know what universe these people are, you know, living in and believing that that's going to happen this time around. we have got a ground game and effective and incredible operation led by the romney team here in ohio. and the rnc's victory program taking our message directly to voters, over 3 million voter contacts already and, you know, we know this is going to come down to turnout. we can't be distracted by these polls because at the end of the day, they aren't accurate
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reflections of what the electorate is likely to look like. >> i have to interrupt you. there are polls and all kinds of numbers day in and day out, new york times, quinnipiac university and cbs news, are you saying their numbers are wrong? >> look at their samples. you know, in one instance, they were looking at a plus ten democratic turnout in terms of the numbers of democrats that would purn oturn out over the n of republicans. that's the sample they used to come up with the polling that they made public. of course, in 2008 there was a plus eight and so they're assuming a 25% increase in democratic turnout from what we had four years ago. >> okay. >> i don't think every indication is that that isn't going to be what happens this time around and so what we're looking at is a race that is very close, and the race that is going to come down to who turns out their voters more effectively. >> i don't want to argue polls with you. they're specic. they look at economy, health care, national security, women's
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reproductive health issues, et cetera. i'm chucking the poll. here is my question to you, matt, this is from cnn's peter hamby, he talks with ohio republicans about mitt romney and they say basically that mitt romney is on the wrong side of the auto bailout, that, of course, hurts him in ohio. they say he's not taking advice from people there on the ground and they quite frankly say he's not making a case to be elected. let me read this quote here, from this unnamed state wide office holder. quote, why is mitt romney running for president and what will his presidency be about? i don't think most republicans in ohio can answer that question. don't make your campaign about marginal tax rates, make it about your children, your grandchildren, and the future of this country. you're there, you're the head of the party there in the state of ohio. is that what you're hearing from fellow republicans? >> i can tell you there is absolute unanimity that this president needs to be defeated. and that we need to get mitt romney and paul ryan into the
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white house so that we can get a partner in washington who can help governor kasich, you know, continue the path that he's on in terms of rebuilding the economy here in ohio. >> but, matt, the question i asked was are you hearing complaints from fellow republicans when it comes to mitt romney's message that he's focusing too much on taxes let's say and not enough on the people of ohio? >> well, i'm not sure i think that's an accurate reflection. let's look at what -- let's look at what happened here in ohio. you have a governor who is really -- who has done three things that barack obama has not done. he's balanced a budget. he's cut taxes. and he focused like a laser on job creation, which last time i checked are the exact same things mitt romney is talking about doing, getting federal spending under control, looking at ways to create jobs, he's got a plan to create 13 million jobs when he takes office, and doing the kinds of things that -- cutting taxes, getting regulations, the wind in our
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face, which is what john kasich has called it, that's been coming from washington since barack obama has been the president. so, you know, if mitt romney is sticking to that message, ohio is a great indication that that's exactly what will work. that's exactly what will help fix the united states' economy in the way that governor kasich and other leaders here have begun the process of fixing the ohio economy. but no one would suggest the job is done yet. no one would suggest ohioans are exempt from their portion of the $16 trillion federal deficit. we have got a long way to go. we need a partner in washington to help us, you know, complete the job here in ohio. >> matt, here is my faith questi final question, my left field question, what about john boehner? you laugh, but john boehner is the speaker of the house, pretty big deal from outside cincinnati, national figure, huge stature, is he out campaigning for romney and if not, why not? >> yeah, john boehner is an important piece of the ohio
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republican family. we love him. and are proud of the job he's doing as speaker. we have got -- we have got such great, you know, ohioans, rob portman who has been -- >> so hang on, before we move on to portman, where is john boehner? >> sure. i mean, john boehner has been actively campaigning with mitt romney. he was at an event with mitt romney not long ago here in ohio. you know, john boehner is an incredibly important piece of this ohio republican family and we couldn't be prouder to have him as speaker of the house. >> okay. matt borges, thank you very much for us from ohio. with that, we have a lot more for you this hour. roll it. in his last u.n. speech as president of iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad tells the world or at least those who will list than his country is going to fight. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. home prices may be going up,
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but the buyers aren't who you think. plus -- >> the meat hook was there. they said rebels tortured and hanged people here. >> this scene inside a syrian town where the killings don't stop. and he's part of the west memphis three. once on death row, now free. i'll speak live with damian eccles about his life inside a maximum security prison. ♪ leaving my homeland ♪ playing a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪ ♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i just can't pretend oww! ♪ [ male announcer ] careful, you're no longer invisible in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. that's the power of german engineering.
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my brother doesn't look like a heart attack patient. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and now i don't have that fear. and the candidate'speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.
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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. if you knew nothing about iran or mahmoud ahmadinejad and you heard his speech today before the united nations general assembly you might think he's a peace, love and understanding kind of guy. of course, you would be wrong. listen to part of what he said, anyway. >> rulers must love people. just and fair order in which everybody is equal before law, and in which there is no double standards. leaders of the world must regard
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themselves as committed servants of the people, not superiors. >> this was ahmadinejad's eighth time to speak before the u.n. general assembly and most likely his last since he leaves office in june. and, you know, there are all kinds of expectations he would go all bombastic. he did not. but that didn't keep the u.s. delegation from walking out as ahmadinejad walked in. want to bring in jill dougherty, our foreign affairs correspondent. are you at all surprised by what ahmadinejad did or perhaps more importantly didn't say in the speech today. this is someone who was denied the holocaust, questioned arab involvement in 9/11. nothing really like that today. >> you know, we expect those things, brooke. it is like, you know, when will the president kind of explode in some sort of statement. and it didn't happen. but in a way i really wasn't that surprised because, look, this is his last speech to the united nations as you pointed out. he thinks of himself as a
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statesman, the leader of the nonaligned movement. and those are the countries that, you know in the cold war, they weren't with russia, weren't with the united states, and now he leans -- he thinks he's leading these countries that feel left out and oppressed by the hegemonic perils which would be the united states, and much of the west. and certainly israel. so there were a couple of swipes at israel, but really nothing to write home about. it was really more oppressed of the world follow me. i will lead you because i'm the leader of the nonaligned movement. >> speaking of israel, i do just want to play one of those moments where he blasts israel and the west for efforts to stop iran's nuclear program, without actually mentioning iran's program. here he was. >> translator: continue by the uncivilized zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example
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of this bitter reality. a state of mistrust on the international relations while there is no trust or just authority to help resolve world conflicts. no one feels secure or safe, even those who have stockpiled thousands of atomic bombs and other arms in their arsenals. >> so he drew fire for saying israel has no roots in the middle east? was it like a pin dropping in there afterwards? >> there were countries that listened. the united states wasn't there. i think the uk also wasn't. but ere are countries that either out of politeness and, you could kind of count china and russia in that vein, that let him talk, that's his right, we won't comment, they may not agree, of course, but i think, again, you have to take into context whate's trying to do.
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it is not all bluster. he really does -- he taps into, i think, the zeitgeist of the moment by saying, look, there are problems, kind of like 99% in the united states who think the system is against them. >> that's one way to look at it. jill dougherty, thanks so much for covering the u.n. general assembly for us in new york. now listen to this, because one nfl player is suggesting teams may stop playing altogether if the league doesn't fix this whole ref mess. coming up next, we're going to speak live with a man in charge of the players union about the breaking point here. plus, we are getting word a deal may be -- let me say that again -- may be very, very close. it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way, right? lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. ♪
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rage, rage against the replacement refs and now the old ones may soon be on their way back. sources tell us the nfl and the referees union are reportedly nearing an end to a lockout. i have to say, cnn has been reaching out to the nfl, but they have declined to comment to us at least just yet. many of you still outraged, not just over the game sunday night, but monday night's nfl game and the decision to uphold that seattle touchdown. here is the play again, giving them a win over green bay.
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now there say lot of talk about how this whole mess is ruining the game. a lot of talk about the integrity of the game right now. new jersey lawmaker in fact wants to ban replacement refs in his state. here is what he told carol costello today. >> the nfl's committing consumer fraud on the public. i was on the radio with the commissioner of the lingerie football league yesterday. and he told me that some of the people that were actually officiating the games were fired from his league. so that's what we have in the game that we really truly enjoy. >> so if he has it right, should nfl commissioner roger goodell step down? there was an op-ed in the new york times today, from thad williamson, the handling of the nfl's labor dispute with its referees has been an epic failure. in response, the league's commissioner roger goodell must step down. i want to bring in the executive director of the nfl players
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association, demorris smith. he has hopped on the phone with me from new york. demorris, i have to throw it out there, you may not be able to go on the record, but what are you hearing as far as this lockout? are you hearing it's over, it's nearing an end? >> well, great to join you. what we're hearing is really not that much. i can tell and have told our players and certainly willing to go on the record to tell our fans, having gone throh this with the national football league, for nearly three years, no one should rejoice until the ink on the paper is dry. until we see an actual deal between the refs, until we know that the right referees are actually on the field, no one should believe that what we have had to endure over the last five or six weeks is over. >> is there ink on the paper? >> well, put it this way, i haven't seen it. so until someone tells us that the real referees are on the field and that the right guys
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are there to protect the health and safety and welfare of our players, we don't believe that the deal is done. and certainly we know that the last year, for example, there were about 4500 injuries in the national football league. that's with about 1800 players. we also know that most of those injuries occurred during a game. so we believe that the right referees should be on the field, not so much that it is going to result in a right call, but we know that the work place will be safer if the real referees are taking care of our guys. >> talking about drew bledsoe yesterday, part of his fear is it was about the injuries as well. i have to share this story. one of the guys on the packers team, t.j. lang, on vbviously ut over this call on monday. he was telling a local station that the packers have discussed ways to strike, even by taking a knee during every play, meaning they wouldn't play in the upcoming games if these
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replacement referees aren't removed. as director of the players association, demorris,is that acceptable? >> well, look, i'm not sure it is ever a good idea to punish the fans and take the game away from them because the league has made a mistake about how to keep our players the most safe. so what we focus on is a group of players and family men, brothers, husbands, fathers, we focus on what steps do we need to take in order to make sure that the workplace is as safe as possible. >> you would agree that -- hang on you would agree if the packers take a knee that would rob the fans of the game of football. >> well, i think that, look, anytime anything happens to take away from a fan's enjoyment, anytime that the league does something to jeopardize our players, all those things are things that are not good. what we focus on as a group of men and a group of family men is what is in the best interests of
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the fans, what is in the best interests of the players, and taking -- whether taking a knee or going on strike at the end of the day, we don't believe that that's in the best interest of either us or the fans who love our game. >> what about the commish? what about roger goadlodell. >> so far none of the owners have called me to draft me for the job of commissioner. so i don't think -- >> sure, but do you share the frustration? do you think this is going on far too long? he's part of the problem? >> well, look, obviously roger works for the owners, just like i work for the players. i know that the owners of the national football league and those teams are ultimately responsible for their obligation to keep our players safe.
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and i know that we were able to get our deal done. we have guaranteed contracts to an extent for first time in history. we have cut the contact during training camp in half. we have new benefits for concussions. we reached all of those agreements because owners stepped up to the plate to take care of the current players and to take care of the former players. >> i understand. i understand. i hear you. we have to go. demorris smith, we have to go. let me know. we're making phone calls back to that ink drying. many a fan in this country would like to know when it is dried. demorris smith, thank you. up next, the polls show mitt romney has a lot of ground to make up in six weeks. especially in the states he needs to win. plus, home prices, they may be up, but the buyers aren't exactly who you think here. why the news may not be so good after all. [ owner ] i need to expand to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it?
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call now and also ask about our 24/7 support and service. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? we told you about the ohio poll that spells very bad news for mitt romney. what we haven't yet mentioned is florida. florida. yet another one of these tossup states here, the biggest tossup state of all, florida is also breaking obama. obama, you can see, leading mitt romney nine points, nine points now in florida. this is the poll by new york times, cbs news, quinnipiac university. obama's lead in ohio is by ten points. this is -- this is that very
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same poll. as we talk about the significance here, let's just view it this way. right now, cnn sees obama very likely to win at least 237 electoral votes come election day. were he to win ohio and florida, that would mean re-election for barack obama without having to win any other tossup states, any of them. he would have 284 electoral votes to win. the magic number is 270. romney and obama, no surprise, both are in the state of ohio today. each spoke within this past half hour. i want to play some sound, this is -- we go with the president first. this is a jab at mitt romney for his controversial statement about 47% of americans. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. and i got to tell you, as i travel around ohio and as i look
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out on this crowd, i don't see a lot of victims. i see hard working ohioans. that's what i see. >> a lot of people can talk, talk is cheap. you can be extraordinarily eloquent and describe all the wonderful things you can do, but when you cut through the words, you can look at the record. and when you can see policies that have not created the jobs america needs, then you know i is time to choose a new lead, get a new coach, get america growing again. >> so, big day in politics, we will have much, much more as we move along. now to this, new signs today that the housing market might be turning around. this comes at a report from the federal government. sales of new homes held pretty steady in august. you can see they were down a little bit from july. take a look. but way up from over one year ago. check this out in terms of
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prices of new homes, they jumped 11% from july. and they're up a whopping 17% from last year. morgan brennan covers real estate as a staff writer for forbes. nice to see you. >> hi. >> question is, is this the real deal? is this the real rebound in the housing market? >> i actually do believe this is the beginnings of recovery and i stress the beginnings of recovery. i do think we're starting to see a rebound, it is very localized. i think real estate needs to be taken, you need to look at it according to your own local neighborhood. on a national level, we're starting to seat numbers rise for a reason. i think we are potentially at the upswing of the second half of a u curve where housing is concerned. that recovery will be slow. there is a lot of questions including fiscal cliffs, political elections, that stand in the way of just how fast we do see a recovery in housing. >> as we talk recovery, there is this fascinating story out there we have been wanting to tell. i wanted to ask you about this. this is twist on housing right
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now. private equity firms are buying houses to offer up for rent. home buyers are frustrated because they're trying to buy a home, they're getting squeezed because they can't win the bidding war that involve the other multiple offers from investors who have the one thing that sellers want and that's cash. my question to you is how much of an impact are all these investors having on the housing market overall? >> i think they're having impact, again, i think it depends on your local market. i think in places like phoenix where you're seeing as many as ten to 20 bids on the same house and first time home buyers are being beat by investors, that is an issue. you have other areas like chicago and atlanta where you have large scale bulk buying investors who are coming in and they're buying the properties that nobody else wants. they're fixing them up and then renting them out to renters. so that's actually not necessarily a bad thing and some of these markets because you can make the argument that it actually boosts the value of the neighborhood for some of the
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vacant homes to be cleaned up and taken over and rented out. i think it depends on the neighborhood. >> i think that's precisely one of the points i was trying to make with one of my producers, it sounds like it can be a great thing short-term. if you're in the neighborhood and all these homes that were for sale are suddenly they have been bought that has to be good for you as the home price goes up. on the flip side, is it a bad thing if -- when have we become a nation of renters? >> i think we are already somewhat of a nation of renders now. if you look at the numbers, home ownership is at historic lows now. we have as many as 4 million households that have converted from buying -- from home ownership to rental. so those are people that actually are looking for inventory. that's the reason you have seen a surge, i think the national association of realtors said that rents this year are up 4% depending on the market. it is markedly higher. you need inventory for the new renters. will it stay that way? i think as long as home affordability remains low and i think maybe if the jobs market
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ever does come back in a meaningful way, i think we may see the conversion back to home ownership. right now you need inventory and investors are providing rentals. i don't necessarily think it is a bad thing. >> my landlord said, sorry, brooke, we're upping your rent. it is a renters market now. morgan brennan, thank you so much, we appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, he's an islamist, belongs to the muslim brotherhood and u.s. gives his country more than a billion dollars in aid each and every year. today, egypt's new president addresses the world and brings up fanatics. hala gorani in the studio. we talk egypt next. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%,
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today is the day egypt's new leader steps in the international spotlight, give is us a chance to see if he has what it takes to be a world player, a world negotiator if you will. mohamed morsi made his debut at the united nations a short time
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ago. to say his speech is being watched closely by leaders around the world is an understatement. morsi is the leading figure to emerge from the arab spring, islamist, a key figure in the once banned muslim brotherhood. we have hala gorani joining us. i know you listened to the speech. what was it he specifically was saying about israel. i know it is part of the question is he wanting to change the relationship that, the egypt/israeli relationship. >> he reiterated th edreiterate think he wanted to underline in the speech was essentially that these treaties these agreements signed in the past that egypt is going to abide by them, i say it loudly to those wondering about our position, vis-a-vis the international agreements and conventions, we are committed to what we have signed on. so mohamed morsi is saying that, he said that, as you said, in his essentially coming out party to the world. you know, there are so many interesting things about not just the content of the speech,
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but the tone. >> let's play the walking out, the introducing of himself. here he was, mohamed morsi, a short time ago. >> translator: i am the first egyptian civilian president elected democratically. and free, following a great peaceful revolution, hailed by the entire world. this revolution established a genuine legitimacy through the efforts of all egyptians. inside and outside egypt, we have taken several steps on the road toward establishing the modern states the egyptians aspire to seek.
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one that is in tune with the present, based on the rule of law, democracy, and respect for human rights. >> i mean this is the first -- after everything, you covered it in tahrir square and a couple of weeks ago with the emy? cairo, this is huge that we're hearing from him. >> as i was saying before we heard from him directly, i was struck by how decisive his tone was. you may remember during t actual campaign for the presidency, when mohamed morsi was written off as someone essentially trailing in the polls, he was called a spare tire of the muslim brotherhood. here is a man who then ended up dismissing the head of the army, which was unthinkable, of course, and also coming out in this speech today at the united nations and talking about palestinians, talking about israel, talking about sudan, talking about somalia, positioning himself as a regional player, a regional negotiator, a negotiator as you said in the introduction. it is interesting, he didn't
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meet with president obama. we -- there was some reporting in the new york times that essentially they approached the white house, got a bit of a cold reception and dropped the request. it is not happening this time. >> yes. he hadn't met with anyone, perhaps a calculation on behalf of the white house as it is campaign year. nevertheless, hala gorani, thank you so much. mohamed morsi for the first time for all of us. it is an existence so depraved you grow numb to the sounds of torture. that is what my next guest says he lived through. damian eccles is one of the west memphis three, convicted killer set free last year after 18 years in prison with a twist, though. with a twist. eccles just wrote this book about his life on and after death row. hear why his story is far, far from over. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock.
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when you hear damian eccles story, you may think he's the unluckiest man alive. a man sentenced to death for a crime many say he did not commit.
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when you read, as i did very late last night, this is a fascinating read, "life after death," you may think he's the luckiest man around because you learn how he survived desperate poverty, death row and how he survived it all. echols was convicted for the 1993 murders of these three 8-year-old boys, steven branch, michael moore, and christopher byers. jason baldwin and jesse misskelley jr. were sent away for life. then just last year in august, after the documentary paradise lost there is multiple documentaries about the injustices in this case and decades of legal wrangling, the west memphis three were able to cut a deal. and here they were. do you remember these pictures? walking out, walking out free, but there's an asterisk to this. not exonerated, officially they
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are not innocent in the eyes of the law. it was called the alfred plea. they accepted it. that meant they admitted to no crime, agreed there is enough evidence to convict them. and damien echols joins me live from los angeles. and, damien, first before we get started, i want to say welcome and your book is truly a fascinating read. we had this conversation at commercial break about your glasses and you can't see without them, tell me why. >> well, a lot of it is due to the fact that i didn't see sunlight for almost ten years while i was in prison, i was in solitary confinement. and i was also kept in a really small space so that my eyes never had a chance to focus on anything, you know, very far away. so gradually over time i lost the ability to focus on things more than a couple of inches in front of my face. >> and so you asked if you -- i said i would rather you be able to see so that's why you're wearing the glasses, just wanted everyone to understand that. to you, to your -- >> i usually --
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>> no, no, i just want -- on or off, damien, it is your call. i want you to be comfortable. to your story, you were on death row for 18 years, no e-mail, no internet, i know you love the winter, you know snow. what has been the biggest shock about just walking free? >> well, a lot of it was just the human interaction. like i said, i was in solitary confinement for a decade. so i literally went from that to one day them saying, okay, that's it, go back out into the world. so all the stimulation, you know it was just a complete and absolute overload. and for the first two to three months i was out i was in a state of complete and absolute shock and trauma. >> i can't imagine and here you are more than a year late, you've written this book, you're proving as the title here there is life after death. and so what you do in this book is you bank lbasically intertwir writings from the prison cell with your life growing up, poor. you talk about how you were this
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heidgeath heathen, you liked metallica in west memphis and there are stories that i can't even repeat on television about some of the men you shared, not cells with, but you were near. i want to read something you wrote about how exhausted you were all the time. my exhaustion is beyond bone deep. it has seeped into my soul and every day it robs me a little more of what i once was, of what i was meant to be. there is no rest here. if there is no life, they say it is death only if you accept it, but more and more these days i'm feeling like i don't have a choice. damien, you write about how you couldn't have survived all those years on death row had it not been for what? you were young. >> two things. i think in essence it was two things that kept me alive. one was my spiritual practice, and the other was my wife. you know, there is almost no medical care on death row. they're not going to spend a lot of time and money and energy taking care of someone they plan on killing. so when i would get really sick
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or in extreme pain, the only thing i had to turn to was meditation and energy work. so that kept me, preserved my health as much as possible in that situation and also my wife. >> forgive me, i want to hold you over a break. i want to ask you about this. this is an incredible story. you found your wife on death row. that story in two minutes. he thought he was having a heart attack. she said, "take an aspirin, we need to go to the hospital." i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm very grateful to be alive. aspirin really made a difference. it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way, right? lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one.
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want to pick up with damien echols. you know the story, the west memphis three. we were talking about your wife, who you met on death row. tell me that story. how did that happen? >> we have been together for 17 years now. and she saw the first documentary made about the case called paradise lost that came out in 1996. she was a landscape architect in new york at the time. and she contacted me after seeing that and i knew from the very first letter that i ever received from her she was completely unlike anyone i had ever known before. she was just this amazing magical person that i wanted more all the time. and she eventually took on the role, she did 85% of the work in
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my case. she did more work than the attorneys and private investigators combined. when we couldn't afford to pay legal bills anymore, she actually took out two personal loans just to pay off legal fees. >> that's incredible. she moved to arkansas, believed in your innocence and you talk in the book about how she truly saved you. you know, in the book, at the very end, as part of the acknowledgement behind your wife, you acknowledge someone you call your brother in all but blood. johnny depp. why did johnny depp get involved in your case? >> i think initially in the beginning the reason he got involved is because when he started to see the case and hear about it, he had that feeling of this could have been me. if i would have been in this place at this time, it could have been me that they focused on. so he related to it. >> and also who else? eddie vetter has come forward, natalie manes. >> he used to come to the prison and visit me on death row, yes. >> ultimately through this very
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unusual legal maneuver, the alfred plea, you are free, but still guilty in the eyes of the law. i want to just play something. this is what you said two years ago to one of our correspondents here on cnn. >> knowing that, you know, even if i were to go to trial today, and we were to present all this new evidence and they found us not guilty, i would still for the rest of my life have people looking at me and asking these questions about me. thinking these things about me. there is no way for them to undo what has been done. >> damien, you're free, but this isn't over for you. explain to viewers that final page in your book that emotional plea. >> that's the reason for us trying to get the word out about the book and trying to get the word out about the documentary is there is no sense of closure for us, no sense of closure for the victims' families. the only way there is ever going to be a sense of closure is when the person who belongs in prison goes to prison, whenever we're exonerated, and the officials who did this are held
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responsible for what they have done. it is not pleasant to have to relive this every day. but for me right now, my life, it is like a necessary evil. we have to keep pushing forward because really the burden of this case now rests on us. the state is not going to do anything to fix this situation. >> you want justice. damien echols, your book, "life after death," pleasure, a pleasure. thank you so much. >> thank you so much for having me. >> thank you. and the race for president goes to ohio next. but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! thanks. ♪ forz(power!) andiamo! andiamo! (let's go! let's go!) avanti! avanti! (keep going! keep going!) hahaha...hahahaha!
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